I created this collection to show the humanity in all people. Between us separations exist like hierarchy, title, experience, notoriety and fame. I often see citizens worshiping their thought leaders, their talking heads, and their masters. In this collection I attempt to break the elusive spell of propaganda, worship, allegiance, holiness, and heroism to show the leaders of time to be real, candid, authentic, personable, intimate, and full of memories, emotions, cravings, and to be very much human. There are gods here, only humans.
I think the question this gallery asks immediately is in the visual themselves. What is this truth of moment? Here we see our leaders in the same situations as the vast majority of whom they rule and represent. Many of them have gained through time, illusion, cultural standards and expectations, as well as communication access and environment that has led them to stand out in these photographs. Many of them look different, as if they had lived different lives before "we" met them. They still live these lives.
In many senses, outside their proper context, some of these thought leaders are nearly unrecognizable - even though we see them nearly every day. But not like this.
Good, evil, dictatorship, democracy, all of these things fall to the shoulders of human beings. They are not beyond human experience, and they are not infallible, completely honest, unselfish, or hungry.
I felt with the candid style I could show this quality in our tightly framed leaders. It is in these rare candid (true or not), authentic (true or not), and timely photos that one might begin to remember the fragility of life, society, and the human conditional balance we have today that we all take some granted for. May we also ask why it is this type of photo remains so far passed the modern era's conception of world leadership. What might happen if the tight frame around leaders were eased off? What would change? Who would benefit? Who is benefiting now? Might this phenomenon be decreasing with the passage if time and access to cameras?
I urge the viewer to take the authenticity of the photographs into question.
